I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.
02101 – Circumstances vs. Decisions
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01907 – Since You Can’t Do Good to All…
Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you.
01764 – Humanity Has a Choice of Action
[from his time as an inmate at Auschwitz:] The experiences of camp life show that humanity does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Humanity can preserve a...
01552 – Focus on What Matters
Poet Ranier Maria Rilke points us in the right direction when he says, "The more the soul praises, the stronger it grows." Rilke is suggesting that praise is about the condition of our soul, not the circumstances of our days. Gratitude strengthens our soul by focusing...
01256 – Happiness Mostly Depends on Our Dispositions
Everybody needs to dream the dream of a better life, a better world. But there is such a thing as failing to accept life as it is to the point that we miss what is good about it, too. "The greatest part of our happiness," Martha Washington wrote, "depends on our...
00472 – Happiness in Spite of Circumstances
The happiness which brings enduring worth to life is not the superficial happiness that is dependent on circumstances. It is the happiness and contentment that fills the soul even in the midst of the most distressing of circumstances and the most bitter environment....